Chattooga
Chattooga is a mapped river in the YearMaps hydrographic index. River courses organise settlement, agriculture and frontier-making more durably than any political boundary, and this reach is indexed against the dams, lakes and cities within its catchment.
- Feature Class
- River
- Coordinates
- 34.89°, -83.22°
About Chattooga
The Chattooga River (also spelled Chatooga, Chatuga, and Chautaga, variant name Guinekelokee River) is the main tributary of the Tugaloo River in the United States.
Encyclopedic summary adapted from Wikipedia: Chattooga River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Chattooga in Depth
Water course
The headwaters of the Chattooga River are located southwest of Cashiers, North Carolina, and it stretches 57 miles (92 km) to its confluence with the Tallulah River within Lake Tugalo, which was created by the Tugalo Dam. The Chattooga begins in southern Jackson County, North Carolina, and flows southwestward between northwestern Oconee County, South Carolina, and eastern Rabun County, Georgia. The "Chattooga" spelling was approved by the US Board on Geographic Names in 1897.
The Chattooga and the Tallulah rivers combine to make the Tugaloo River, which is considered to start at the outlet of Lake Tugalo. Downriver from the Tugaloo's confluence with the Seneca River, it is known as the Savannah River below Lake Hartwell.
Tributaries
The river is split into three forks. The Chattooga River is the main fork, running along the state line. The East Fork Chattooga River (sometimes East Prong Chattooga River) runs in from Jackson County, North Carolina and then Oconee County, South Carolina, and is 7.4 miles (11.9 km) long. The West Fork Chattooga River (variant name Gumekoloke Creek) runs 6.0 miles (9.7 km) in from Rabun County, Georgia, and is also a variant name for that county's Holcomb Creek, one of its own tributaries.
One of the largest tributaries in the Chattooga basin that flows mainly through private lands is Stekoa Creek, which flows primarily southeast for approximately 18 miles (29 km) from its headwaters in Mountain City, Georgia, through Clayton, Georgia, to its mouth at the Chattooga River.
Geology
The Chattooga River serves as part of the boundary between Georgia and South Carolina near latitude 35°N. The Chattooga was not the original boundary line between South Carolina and Georgia. A treaty of 1816 between the United States and the Cherokee extended the South Carolina boundary to its current location. Prior to 1816, the Chattooga flowed through the ancient homeland of the Cherokee Indian Nation. A Cherokee town known as Chattooga was located along the upper river. The people were forced to cede this territory to the United States.
The Blue Ridge Mountains, where the Chattooga starts, are considered to be ancient, even by geological standards. The rock is mostly granite. Geologists believe that the Chattooga may have made one direction change during its life.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Chattooga River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Chattooga: Key Facts
| Length | 92 km |
|---|---|
| Mouth | Tugaloo River |
| Drainage system | Savannah River drainage basin |
Facts from Wikidata Q834880 (CC0).
Major River Dossiers
Hand-written studies of the great river systems of history.
Connected Reaches
Nearby watercourses in the same drainage network.
Water Bodies in the Catchment
Settlements Along the Reach
Hydraulic Infrastructure Nearby
Surrounding Terrain
Chattooga: Quick Answers
- Where is Chattooga?
- Chattooga is located in United States, at 34.8867° N, 83.2206° W.
- Are there dams on the Chattooga?
- No dam on the Chattooga is recorded in the YearMaps dam index, which covers major structures only.